The Flying Samaritans clinic in Lopez has a very well stocked pharmacy. We have a good variety of pain meds, anti-inflammatory meds, meds for diabetes and high blood pressure, antibiotics, and other commonly used meds for an outpatient clinic setting. Patients present outside the window with new prescriptions that our providers have ordered that day or will bring their records with prior authorized refill instructions. We dispense most medications in zip lock bags with Spanish labels most of which are pre-typed in formats that allow the pharmacy volunteer to simply write numbers for quantity, dosage, and frequency of the dose. There are interpreters available to help with more detailed instructions to the patients and it’s a great setting to practice you Spanish if it is limited (like mine). There is material available in the pharmacy to assist in translating medical terminology from English to Spanish. We keep an updated inventory of our medications that is available for each clinic. During the clinic we keep track of what we dispense during that clinic and then the update the inventory for the following month’s clinic. The pharmacy houses the clinic computer and wireless internet server which can be very handy for those of us without cell service in the Baja.

We only have a couple of active pharmacists in the Phoenix Flying Samaritan Chapter and we are frequently in need of assistance in the pharmacy. If you are a registered pharmacist, pharmacy intern, or just happen to know a lot about drugs (no, not those kind) we would love to see you volunteer for a clinic and assist in the pharmacy. If you are interested in volunteering for a very rewarding experience or would like more information on the pharmacy please contact me at 480-540-8061 or travellernlt@earthlink.net .